Under the Shadow of the Moon

Epilogue

Luna squeezed Trae's hand in hers, letting her eyes gloss over the park around them. Winter was starting to frost the ends of the air, the crisp wind blowing Luna's hair around behind her and tinting her cheeks pink. The remains of leaves long fallen from trees crunched as they walked down the trail. Despite the chill in the air, the park was full of people. Children playing, adults watching and weeping. Luna had to look away, guilt and terror gripping her heart.

Each time her mind drifted back to the war, the sounds of gunshots and clashing swords filled her ears. Blood smeared her vision and Trae's death replayed until she passed out. She wouldn't let herself go back to it. She wouldn't let herself remember. Not until she could control her reaction. Not until the urge to fight for her life dissipated. As hard as she fought to lock the memories away, they still swirled around her clouded mind.

She looked behind her, letting Trae lead her forward as she scanned the faces of her friends. No one was smiling, but they were trying.

"School starts in three months," Harper commented, catching Luna's gaze. "I don't really know how that's going to go, but that's the plan."

"That seems so far from now," Lily's voice came out as a squeak.

"Too soon if you ask me," Lloyd grumbled. "It's going to take a lot longer than three months to come to terms with what happened."

Luna sighed through her nose. "At least they are starting to remix the population. And things are going to get better for a while now, so let's not think about the bad things."

Everyone was silent, only for a moment.

"Do you think the White Sand will try again?" Trae asked in a whisper.

Fear bubbled through Luna as she looked up at his face, his expression almost blank and his eyes dull. His hand drifted to his chest, and he clutched the fabric. Luna tightened her grip on his other hand, his fingers as cold as hers.

"No," she responded, looking away from him, a cold sense of dread washing over her. "I think they're gone for good this time."

His cold finger ran over her cheekbone. "You don't believe that."

She sighed again. "No, I don't. They've started two wars, who's to say they won't try again?"

Trae's hands were shaking, from the cold or from fear—Luna supposed it was both. "Like you said," he took in a heavy breath. It shook as it left his lips. "Let's not focus on the bad things."

"Let's just enjoy these last few moments of utter freedom," Sylvia piped up. "Before it gets taken from us again, one way or another."

Luna nodded, although her back was turned to Sylvia.

"I just hope that things can go back to normal soon—not that anything can ever be normal again..."

"Hey," Colin spoke up. "At least we're all still here, all still together. No matter what we go through, we'll always stick together."

"Don't be cheesy," Razaia poked him in the ribs.

"I'm not trying to be."

Luna smiled, the first on her lips in a while. They were all together, and nothing would separate them now.

A gust of fresh winter air blew over them, sending a pleasant shiver through Luna's body. She shifted closer to Trae, scrunching down into her windbreaker. The others felt the breeze too, the chill it sent through them like a final end, and the breath of a new beginning.